The previous column mentioned the winners of the Open Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway last month. China won gold for the first time with a team score of 19/22 over the 11 rounds. Four teams finished on 17 points, with tie-breaks determining silver to the Hungarian team and bronze to India, ahead of Azerbaijan and the favourites, Russia. In the Women's Olympiad, the second seeded Russian team finished with the gold on 20 points ahead of favourites China, who took silver, and third seeded Ukraine the bronze, both finishing on 18 points.
The Olympiad was also the event at which Judit Polgar, the greatest female player in history, chose to announce her retirement from professional chess. She is still ranked highest on the female list by a large margin at the age of 38 and at her peak she was number eight in the world. She and her two sisters proved that males have no intrinsic advantage in chess. The fact that she was part of the Silver winning Hungarian open team, was typical, as she preferred to face the strongest competition throughout her career, rather than play in female-only events.
Today's game from the Venezuela-Hungary match in round 2 of the Olympiad shows Polgar at her swashbuckling best. She has the black pieces against FM Andres Guerrero Vargas.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f4 Nge7 7.Nf3 b5 8.a3
In the Taimanov Sicilian, Black often advances pawns on the queenside, relying on the solid central structure to protect her from a sudden attack. White's last is unlikely to challenge this strategy as Black is given an extra move to develop her pieces compared to 8. Bd3. 8... Bb7 9.Bd3 Ng6 10.O-O
Not attending to his f-pawn, which Black immediately pounces on. Instead 10. Be3 Qc7 11. Qd2 would have allowed White to develop in an orderly way. 10... Qc7! 11.Ng5?!
Compounding the error, White puts his knight offside. Instead 11. Ne2 is only a minor inconvenience, while 11. Be3!? Nxf4 12. Ng5 Nxd3 13. cxd3 Be7 14. Nxf7 O-O 15. Qh5 Bf6 16. Ng5 is more or less equal. 11... f6 12.Nh3 Bc5+ 13.Kh1 O-O-O!?
Typically aggressive from Polgar. Black plays for an all-out attack on the cramped white king. Her own king is far from safe on the queenside, but White's pieces are not well placed to exploit this. 14.Qh5 Nce7 15.Qe2 e5!?
A brave move – committing Black to a sacrificial path. Objectively 15... f5 chipping away at the long diagonal was better. 16.fxe5
If 16. f5 not 16... Nf8?! but 16... Nh4! and if 17. Qg4 g5 18. Nxg5 fxg5 19. Bxg5 Nhxf5! 20. exf5 h6 21. Bxe7 Rdg8! with a winning attack. 17... Nxe5 17.Nf4 h5 18.a4 g5!?
Provoking White to what looks like a winning piece sacrifice for three pawns and destroying the Black king's shelter. But White has to thread his way through the ferocious complications first... 19.axb5! gxf4 20.bxa6 Bc6 21.Bxf4 Rdg8 22.Bc4 Rg4 23.Nd5 Bxd5 24.Bxd5 Nxd5 25.exd5 Kb8! 26.Rf3?!
Polgar's incredible sang froid in calmly moving her king to black the a-pawn has taken its toll and White misses the more convincing 26.Bg3! attacking f6 when Black's best appears to be 26... Rxg3!? (26... Rf8 27.Rxf6! Rxf6 28.Bxe5 wins) 27.hxg3 h4 28. g4! h3 29.g3! and White switches over to the attack. 26... Ka8 27.h3 Rhg8?
Necessary was 27... d6! keeping the long diagonal closed. Now White finds a way to expose Black king. 28.d6! Qc6
Not 28... Qxd6? 29.hxg4 hxg4 30. Qe4+ Qc6 31. Qxc6+ dxc6 32.Rb3! Rh8+ 33.Bh2 Bf2 34.a7 g3 35.Rb8+! Rxb8 36.axb8=Q+ Kxb8 37.Bg1 with a winning ending. 29.hxg4 hxg4
The only practical chance. 29... Nxf3 30.Qxf3 and White has too many pawns. 30.Rc3 Rh8+ 31.Bh2 Qxd6
Again, hopeless is 31... Nf3+ 32.gxf3 g3 33.Rxc5! Qxc5 34.Qe4+ Qc6 35.Qxc6+ dxc6 36.Rd1 winning easily. 32.Qe4+ Nc6 33.g3??
The relentless pressure gets to White and he misses the beautiful mate that is the solution to today's diagram. The only move was 33.Rh3! unpinning the bishop's attack on the black queen, preventing 33... gxh3? White wins after 33... Rxh3 34. gxh3 g3 35.Bg1 repulsing the attack. Polgar does not miss her chance... 33... Rxh2+! 34.Kxh2 Qd2+
White resigns as the Black replies to any move with 35... Qh6+ and 36... Qh3 mate.
Polgar retires after Olympiad
Problem: Black to play and mate in 4.
The previous column mentioned the winners of the Open Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway last month. China won gold for the first time with a team score of 19/22 over the 11 rounds. Four teams finished on 17 points, with tie-breaks determining silver to the Hungarian team and bronze to India, ahead of Azerbaijan and the favourites, Russia. In the Women's Olympiad, the second seeded Russian team finished with the gold on 20 points ahead of favourites China, who took silver, and third seeded Ukraine the bronze, both finishing on 18 points.
The Olympiad was also the event at which Judit Polgar, the greatest female player in history, chose to announce her retirement from professional chess. She is still ranked highest on the female list by a large margin at the age of 38 and at her peak she was number eight in the world. She and her two sisters proved that males have no intrinsic advantage in chess. The fact that she was part of the Silver winning Hungarian open team, was typical, as she preferred to face the strongest competition throughout her career, rather than play in female-only events.
Today's game from the Venezuela-Hungary match in round 2 of the Olympiad shows Polgar at her swashbuckling best. She has the black pieces against FM Andres Guerrero Vargas.
1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 e6
3.d4 cxd4
4.Nxd4 Nc6
5.Nc3 a6
6.f4 Nge7
7.Nf3 b5
8.a3
In the Taimanov Sicilian, Black often advances pawns on the queenside, relying on the solid central structure to protect her from a sudden attack. White's last is unlikely to challenge this strategy as Black is given an extra move to develop her pieces compared to 8. Bd3.
8... Bb7
9.Bd3 Ng6
10.O-O
Not attending to his f-pawn, which Black immediately pounces on. Instead 10. Be3 Qc7 11. Qd2 would have allowed White to develop in an orderly way.
10... Qc7!
11.Ng5?!
Compounding the error, White puts his knight offside. Instead 11. Ne2 is only a minor inconvenience, while 11. Be3!? Nxf4 12. Ng5 Nxd3 13. cxd3 Be7 14. Nxf7 O-O 15. Qh5 Bf6 16. Ng5 is more or less equal.
11... f6
12.Nh3 Bc5+
13.Kh1 O-O-O!?
Typically aggressive from Polgar. Black plays for an all-out attack on the cramped white king. Her own king is far from safe on the queenside, but White's pieces are not well placed to exploit this.
14.Qh5 Nce7
15.Qe2 e5!?
A brave move – committing Black to a sacrificial path. Objectively 15... f5 chipping away at the long diagonal was better.
16.fxe5
If 16. f5 not 16... Nf8?! but 16... Nh4! and if 17. Qg4 g5 18. Nxg5 fxg5 19. Bxg5 Nhxf5! 20. exf5 h6 21. Bxe7 Rdg8! with a winning attack.
17... Nxe5
17.Nf4 h5
18.a4 g5!?
Provoking White to what looks like a winning piece sacrifice for three pawns and destroying the Black king's shelter. But White has to thread his way through the ferocious complications first...
19.axb5! gxf4
20.bxa6 Bc6
21.Bxf4 Rdg8
22.Bc4 Rg4
23.Nd5 Bxd5
24.Bxd5 Nxd5
25.exd5 Kb8!
26.Rf3?!
Polgar's incredible sang froid in calmly moving her king to black the a-pawn has taken its toll and White misses the more convincing 26.Bg3! attacking f6 when Black's best appears to be 26... Rxg3!? (26... Rf8 27.Rxf6! Rxf6 28.Bxe5 wins) 27.hxg3 h4 28. g4! h3 29.g3! and White switches over to the attack.
26... Ka8
27.h3 Rhg8?
Necessary was 27... d6! keeping the long diagonal closed. Now White finds a way to expose Black king.
28.d6! Qc6
Not 28... Qxd6? 29.hxg4 hxg4 30. Qe4+ Qc6 31. Qxc6+ dxc6 32.Rb3! Rh8+ 33.Bh2 Bf2 34.a7 g3 35.Rb8+! Rxb8 36.axb8=Q+ Kxb8 37.Bg1 with a winning ending.
29.hxg4 hxg4
The only practical chance. 29... Nxf3 30.Qxf3 and White has too many pawns.
30.Rc3 Rh8+
31.Bh2 Qxd6
Again, hopeless is 31... Nf3+ 32.gxf3 g3 33.Rxc5! Qxc5 34.Qe4+ Qc6 35.Qxc6+ dxc6 36.Rd1 winning easily.
32.Qe4+ Nc6
33.g3??
The relentless pressure gets to White and he misses the beautiful mate that is the solution to today's diagram. The only move was 33.Rh3! unpinning the bishop's attack on the black queen, preventing 33... gxh3? White wins after 33... Rxh3 34. gxh3 g3 35.Bg1 repulsing the attack. Polgar does not miss her chance...
33... Rxh2+!
34.Kxh2 Qd2+
White resigns as the Black replies to any move with 35... Qh6+ and 36... Qh3 mate.
0-1
Solution: 1... Rxh2+! 2. Kxh2 Qd2+ 3. Kh1 (3. Qg2 Qh6+ 4. Qh3 Qxh3#) 3... Qh6+ 4. Kg2 Qh3#.